This was replaced by the Opel Astra , although the Kadett name was retained for the hatchback and considered a separate model. Opel returned to motorsport competition with the Adam in The appointment of Zdunek to this post was a move of special significance. For the model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan.

Opel Astra: New hatch and wagon for Europe | Kelley Blue Book

From until , Opel was owned by American automaker General Motors. Opel vehicles are sold in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall brand. The company began manufacturing bicycles in and produced its first automobile in After listing on the stock market in , General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in , establishing the American reign over the German automaker for nearly 90 years.

The company designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes Opel-branded passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and vehicle parts and together with its British sister brand Vauxhall they are present in over 50 countries around the world.

In the beginning, Opel produced sewing machines. Opel [9] launched a new product in Opel's two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races, thus promoting this means of transportation. The production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines. The first cars were produced in after Opel's wife Sophie and their two eldest sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt , who had been working on automobile designs for some time.

These cars consisted of Opel bodies mounted on Darracq chassis, powered by two-cylinder engines. The company first showed cars of its own design at the Hamburg Motor Show , and started manufacturing them in , with Opel Darracq production being discontinued in Its reliability and robustness were appreciated by physicians, who drove long distances to see their patients back when hard-surfaced roads were still rare.

The Doktorwagen sold for only 3, marks, about half as much as the luxury models of its day. In , the company's factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up-to-date machinery. In the early s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass-production assembly line in the building of their automobiles.

In , they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the Laubfrosch Tree frog. The Laubfrosch was finished exclusively in green lacquer. Adam Opel led the way for motorised transportation to become not just a means for the rich, but also a reliable way for people of all classes to travel. Opel had a The "Regent" — Opel's first eight-cylinder car — was offered. Subsequently, during , a second factory was built at Brandenburg for the production of "Blitz" light trucks.

In , Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over , vehicles a year. This was based on the popular Opel "P4" model.

This was one of the most important innovations in automotive history. With its small weight and aerodynamics came an improvement in both performance and fuel consumption. Opel received a patent on this technology. Before the conflict broke out, the Adam Opel AG had established itself as the largest motor vehicle manufacturer in Europe.

The combination of Opel know-how with GM resources had produced outstanding results. In spite of stifling red tape, the economic atmosphere in Germany in the s had powerfully fertilised the growth of this and other auto companies, but in the case of Opel, at least, the expansion of this industrial machine clearly was not directed in any way toward military objectives. Opel's relationship to GM in America during the war has been disputed.